Virgil van Dijk and the missed penalty against Argentina at the World Cup: I haven’t slept for two days”

The joy that the consecration to the Qatar 2022 World Cup generated in the players and fans of the Argentine team had and has as a counterpart, to a greater or lesser extent, the sadness of the players and fans of the 31 selected teams who did not get the trophy . And if not, let the French say so, who continue to collect signatures to be able to play the final again. One of those who felt the most frustration was the Dutchman Virgil van Dijkwho missed one of the penalties in the definition against Argentina in the quarter-finals.

“After that game I couldn’t sleep for two days”, admitted the captain of the Dutch team in an interview with the Swedish platform Viaplay. “And that seems very logical to me. We were very close after a 2-0 defeat. Unfortunately I missed an important penalty and we were out. It hurt a lot,” he added.

The centre-back was tasked by manager Louis van Gaal with taking the first shot of the series at the Lusail stadium. His shot, half-height and aimed at the right post, was deflected by Emiliano Martínez. His teammate Steven Berghuis also failed face-to-face with the Argentine goalkeeper in the second penalty of a definition Lautaro Martínez condemned to give Lionel Scaloni’s side a pass to the semi-finals.

“The afternoon, the night and the day after that match were very hard”revealed the England defender from Liverpool, who said his family had been a vital pillar he had relied on to recover after this frustration in his first World Cup with his country’s side. “I was completely isolated from the football world and enjoyed it with my family. This is the most important thing in life and it has helped me a lot”He explained.

After those brief days of frustration, family attachment and separation from the ball, the 31-year-old player had to rejoin Liverpool training and this Monday he started again in the Jürgen Klopp-led cast in the 3-1 win against Aston Villa in Birmingham for the 17th round of the Premier League, in which the networks They are sixth, 15 points behind leaders Arsenal.